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Runaway Rubio: Senator AWOL as Floridians Struggle

Posted January 26, 2015

This week, Floridians can only count on Bill Nelson to show up for work in the United States Senate. Despite being elected to serve the people of Florida, Rubio plans on taking the week off to hock his latest book and (unofficially, of course) pursue his presidential ambitions.

As ABC reported, "Rubio plans to skip all votes in the Senate next week…Rubio has also scheduled a book tour that will take him to all the early primary states.” Additionally, Rubio, who has recently emphasized the importance of presidential candidates to possess foreign policy experience, will miss Senate Foreign Relations Committee meetings on Iranian nuclear negotiations and the campaign against ISIS.

In response, Florida Democratic Party Chair Allison Tant issued the following statement:

"Very few Floridians have the luxury of not showing up to work for a week on a whim, and we expect more from our elected officials. Sadly, Senator Rubio’s decision to run away from his obligations to the people of Florida isn't surprising to his constituents. Floridians have long known that the only person Rubio is looking out for in Washington is himself.

"Just because you’re desperate to convince people to take your presidential ambitions seriously does not mean you get to shirk the duties Floridians elected you to carry out. The people of Florida deserve public service, not self service."